Improvement in railway car-starters



c. B. BROADWELL.

Improvement in Railway-Car Starters.

No.130,275. 4 Patented Aug. 6,187 2.

4/4. MormumomAPfl/z' 00, MY, (0550/11/53 m 00:55

UNITED STATES PATENT OEE o CHARLES B. BROADWELL, oEnEw ORLEANS,LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOR 0E ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT TO PAUL coon, or SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILWAY CAR-STARTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 130,275, dated August6, 1872.

Be it known that I, CHARLES B. BROAD- WELL, of the city of New Orleansand State of Louisiana, have invented an Improved Railway Oar-Starter;and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawingforming a part of this specification.

The present improvement is one of a series of devices relating to thesame object, and for which already two separate patents have beenallowed me by the United States Patent Office. The invention hereindescribed consists of a simple mechanical arrangement, through theagency of which the draft animal or animals are materially assisted andrelieved from the diificult and necessarily oft-repeated burden ofstarting street-railway cars. This object I effectually accomplish byplacing upon the for-- ward axle of the car a movable grooved pulley, ofa diameter somewhat less than that of the wheels upon which the carrests. and at the outer periphery of this pulley attaching the end ofthe draft-chain, thereby, in effect, givingthe draft-anim al at themoment of starting the advantage of pulling the car from the outercircumference of an axle of greatly increased diameteran advantage ofthe greatest importance, as experience has amply demonstrated; but mydevice will be more clearly understood by referring to the drawing,whereon it is plainlyexhibited, and whereon the similar letters refer tothe similar parts thereof.

On the drawing is shown a bottom view of my apparatus in connection withthe floor of a street-railroad car, together with the wheels and axlesthereunto pertaining.

A is the floor of the car, which may be constructed in the usual manner;B B, the axles of the car. In order to apply my invention I place uponthe axle B the collar 0, which is rigidly fixed thereto by means of thescrew a or its equivalent. The clutch D is likewise rigidly fixed to theaxle B in the manner described for the aforesaid collar 0. Between thecollar 0 and the clutch D aforesaid I place the movable grooved pulleyE, upon oneside of which are placed projections b, correspond ing tothose upon the proximate sides of the clutch D, so that when they arethrown together by means of the lever F, the said grooved pulley E maythereby be temporarily held rigidly in connection with the said clutchD, and consequentlywith the axle B aforesaid. Upon the side of thepulleyEopposite to that upon which is placed the clutch projections orjaws b, I place the spiral spring G, connected at one end with thestaple c, which staple is attached to the platform of the car, and atits opposite end with the drum H, which latter is rigidly connected withthe pulley E. I is the draft-chain, one end of which is connected withthe outer periphery of the pulley E, and to its opposite end is attachedthe draft animal. Upon the said draft-chain is placed a short cross-bar,d, which serves to confine the forward-and-backward movements of thesaid chain to. the distance intervening between the staples e and j,which, for that purpose, project below the platform of the car.

The operations of my device are exceedingly simple, as will be apparentfrom the following brief description: Supposing the car-and thedraft-animal to be at rest, with the slack of the draft-chain I woundupon the pulley E, which operation is effected by means of the aforesaidspiral spriil g G to the extent of drawing the cross-bar d as far backas the staple e, the pulley E is now placed in connection with theclutch D by means of the lever F operated by the hand or foot of thedriver. The draft-animal starts forward and draws the draft-chain andcross-bar d aforesaid the distance from the point e to the point f,where its further progress is arrested, the car in the meantime havingmoved forward and acquired sufiicient momentum to enable thedraft-animal to proceed with comparative ease, and as the axle B, towhich the clutchD is fixed, revolves it necessarily relieves the saidclutch from the pulley E. The reversal of the pulley E and theconsequent windin g up of the draftchain will again be repeated as soonas the draft-animal stops.

The advantages of my device will now be clearly apparent from the fact,hereinbefore stated, of the attachment of the draft-chain to theperiphery of a greater diameter than could otherwisebe effect-ed fromits attachment either to the platform of the car or directly to the axlethereof.

Having described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patentis the follow ing claims:

'1. The pulley E, constructed with clutch 3. The pulley E, constructedas described, projections I), groove for draft-chain I, drum 'andcombined with the clutch D, collar 0, H, and groove 9, substantially asand for the spiral spring G, lever F, and axle B, as and purpose setforth. for the purpose'specified.

2. The spiral spring G, in combination with C. B. BROADWELL. the drum H,pulley E, draft-chain I, and sta- Witnesses: ple 0, the several partsbeing arranged sub- L. J. ()LMSTEAD,

stantia-lly as and for the purpose specified. H. N. JENKINS.

